Open House

On March 15th, 1959, Klipsch and Associates premiered Paul’s three-channel stereo system at the Klipsch “downtown office” at 116 N. Louisiana Street, immediately west of City Hall. To put this in perspective, the two-channel stereo LP debuted only the previous year. Don Davis of SYNAUDCON fame was employed as VP of Sales at that time, and can be seen in the photo. Less than a year earlier Don, his wife Carolyn, and Bill Bell had taken a similar system to Belgium to represent the US Hi-fi industry at the Brussels’s World’s Fair. Note that the “new” Heresy was featured as the center channel, and likely is the world’s first commercially-produced center channel.

Nearly 400 people attended this gala event. In addition to “all of Hope society”, many out-of-state visitors traveled from as far as Michigan. Several businesses, as well as several prominent citizens, sent flowers. Afterwards the women had a “house party”.